Jharkhand planning new rehabilitation policy for Maoist rebels

Ranchi, Feb 1 (IANS) The Jharkhand government will soon come out with a new rehabilitation policy to lure the Maoist rebels to surrender, officials sources said. “The new policy is different from previous ones. It talks about ensuring security to surrendered Maoist rebels and gives a good rehabilitation package,” a senior government official told IANS.

Admitting the previous policies failed to lure Maoist rebels, the official said the new policy had been formulated after considering the flaws of the previous policies.

“The proposed policy talks how to protect the interest of surrendered Maoist rebels”.

According to sources, the new policy proposes minimising the sentence of surrendered rebels, providing land and financial support and ensuring security to the family members of surrendered rebels.

“The motive is to cultivate interest of rebels who joined Maoist outfits under circumstances like poverty or repression. The success of the policy will depend on the response,” said the official.

The draft of the new policy has been submitted to Jharkhand governor Syed Sibte Razi for final approval.

The governor is likely to discuss the draft with his three advisors appointed to assist him to run the state, which is presently under president’s rule. One of the advisors, T.P. Sinha is former director general of police (DGP) of the state and well acquainted with the Maoist problem.

The government officials say once the rebels start responding to the policy, it will demoralise the different Maoist outfits operating in the state.

Maoist rebels are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand. In the last seven to eight years, more than 1,450 people have been killed in Maoist related violence.